


never had a friend like me

by Honora



Category: Marvel (Comics), Young Avengers
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Miscommunication, Pining, i'm embarrassed at how much fluff, post resolutions part two
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-03
Updated: 2014-08-03
Packaged: 2018-02-11 13:21:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2069796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Honora/pseuds/Honora
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Okay, so, they were noodles-and-a-coffee friends, and now they are fall-asleep-in-each-other’s-shoulder-and-make-carefully-worded-possibly-romantic-comments-on-the-internet friends.<br/> <br/>Whatever. David can roll with it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	never had a friend like me

**Author's Note:**

> originally meant to cover the "'you know you're singing to your headphones out loud, right' au" item in [ this ](http://aerynlallaboso.tumblr.com/post/91249250556/reached-for-the-last-snack-item-at-the-same-time) post, but I deviated completely and it's not about that at all.

David knows some weird people.  
   
He’s a depowered mutant that hangs out almost exclusively with costumed heroes. Nearly everyone he knows, including himself, is weird to some capacity. And David is cool with that, always has been, but then there was Tommy Shepherd.  
   
No one is like Tommy except Tommy, and no previous experiences compare.  
   
Over his life, David has absorbed a lot of things.  
   
And he does mean _a lot_. Too much. Far, far too much. Knowing certain things about people… You don’t come back from that.  
   
Not that he isn’t happy about his former power. It gave him a lot, including, eventually, the capacity to see and acknowledge his own sexuality. It’s just it also gave him things he wishes he’d never had to know, at the same time. Still, he can handle it. He’s good at processing and accepting whatever life throws his way. And that’s something he didn’t learn from anyone – he got that all by himself.  
   
And that’s good, because none of the skills he absorbed teaches him how to deal with Tommy.  
   
David has to figure that out alone.  
   
And that mostly involves handling and accepting and rolling with the motion. Like, a lot.  
   
Because Tommy is odd, but he isn’t even odd like everyone else David knows. He’s just… Tommy. You can describe him, and you can’t categorize him. You can only settle down and enjoy the ride.  
   
Which is how David finds himself sitting besides Tommy in the bus, with Tommy singing along to sixties songs.  
   
And it's not the weirdest thing he’s done today.  
   
“You know you’re singing out loud, right?”  
   
Tommy’s voice raises an octave along with the music.  
   
“People are looking,” David tries again. It’s true. Again, not the first time today, either.  
   
Tommy moves his arms and upper body along with the beat, lolling his head. If he listens, he doesn’t care.  
   
David pulls the headphone from his ear. “Tommy!”  
   
“What?”  
   
“You were singing out loud.”  
   
“So?” Tommy asks, leaning back. His feet are propped on the chair in front of him, but fortunately there aren’t many people on the bus and the seat is empty.  
   
David decides he doesn’t want to analyze that.  
   
“Why were you listening to Nina Simone?” He asks instead.  
   
“I asked Noh-Varr what did I miss and he gave me a playlist. It’s not bad, actually.”  
   
Okay, then. Better than asking Loki, because who knows what would have come out of that.  
   
“Hey, you should listen!” Tommy says, trying to push the headphone into David’s ear. David holds his arm away, and Tommy pushes back, slipping into faster than normal speed.  
   
 _Do secret identities mean nothing to you?_ , David wants to ask, but he doesn’t get the chance; Tommy is distracted by something behind David, out the window.  
   
“Is that an ice cream parlor?” He brightens, already getting up and pulling David along by the arm, calling the bus to stop. He’s excited, even though they were just coming back from their lunch.  
   
David has absorbed enough from speedsters to figure out they need more calorie replenishing than everyone else, but Tommy has gusto for it like no one David knows.  
   
David isn’t hungry. He probably won’t eat anything. But he lets Tommy drag him away anyway, because that’s what he does, apparently.  
   
And he’s shockingly good at it.  
   
***  
   
Here’s how it happened:  
   
The Young Avengers enjoy a triumphant return to Earth and their own dimension, feeling high and proud of their recent successes.  
   
For about three seconds.  
   
Until they realize that they are back to their everyday lives, which can be eventful (e.g, America and her dimension skipping) or boring (e.g, David and his job). Regardless, they no longer have free food or free housing, so they need to fend for themselves.  
   
Billy and Teddy go back to the Kaplans' residence. Kate has her thing. David goes back to his job.  
   
Tommy does too.  
   
Honestly, David is happy just to have company. The job is awful, and a workplace friendship helps, somewhat. Besides, while the team is still a team, everyone has disbanded, following their own paths. And David still not going to the school with his mutant friends, so he gets lonely.  
   
They haven’t discussed the New Year’s kiss. Tommy makes it feel like they don’t even need to; he took it in his stride and moved on while David was still worrying Tommy might not talk to him anymore.  
   
They’re friends. David can do friends.  
   
It’s not even hard.  
   
Much.  
   
So he’s got a tiny little crush going. It’s no big deal. Until very recently he had a minor one on Teddy.  
   
If David’s going to worry about anything, it’ll be in his tendency to take an interest on people connected to Billy Kaplan.  
   
***  
   
They go to the ice cream parlor. Tommy tells an outlandish story about the team from way before David joined, which must be true to some degree, but in which he saves the day more than he probably did.  
   
He likes talking about his friends. Giving that most of them are now also David’s friends, he can see why. Lots to talk about there. But there’s more to it.  
   
He doesn’t talk about his past a lot. Maybe some mentions here and there, but not much. David can’t know – for once – but he’s assuming the Young Avengers were the turning point to something better in Tommy’s life. They are his family.  
   
(They don’t discuss his future, either. Not what Tommy saw or learned or feels about the Patri-not, not about David’s guesses. Neither enjoys talking about it, and it’s the sort of subject you keep to yourself, really).  
   
Back on the bus that is too slow for Tommy but the only viable form or transportation where they can ride together – after David shut down Tommy’s idea of getting a motorcycle, because a) no, and b) neither of them is licensed, and c) David is pretty sure he’s the only one who knows how to ride a bike, but he’s also sure Tommy won’t take the backseat, so -, their conversation hits a lull.  
   
It’s an unusual occurrence. They can usually find subjects to talk about at any given time. But by David’s calculations, Tommy did about a month’s work in six minutes, and he will need to do it again after quality control. He’s beat.  
   
David lets him be. He can get coffee when they’re in the office, and maybe a few hours rest. Occasionally he comes to sit with David when he has free time, distracting him from work completely, but it’s okay. David doesn’t pay that much attention anyway.  
   
So they keep this comfortable silence, and David, looking out the window, doesn’t even realize Tommy fell asleep until his head hits his shoulder.  
   
He looks so tired, when he’s asleep and still and you can focus on the details. Maybe form his time inside the Patri-not, or maybe just worn from his intense enjoyment of life. Either way, there are circles under his eyes and his skin is even paler than usual.  
   
Not wanting to wake him, David carefully rearranges his shoulder to make him more comfortable, and looks back out the window, trying very hard not to think of how close Tommy is and how nice his hair smells.  
   
Friends don’t think about the type of shampoo the other uses.  
   
***  
   
Weeks later, Tommy drags David to one of the clubs he’s always going, and they take a picture while waiting in the line.  
   
The next day, Tommy posts the picture, with the caption ‘David rocking the senior citizen look’ and nothing else.  
   
A friend of his David doesn’t know replies ‘not bad’ in relation to something left unspecified.  
   
Tommy replies with ‘I know right’.  
   
David half wants to throw his phone tout the window and he half wants to call Tommy and make him explain it, but the only thing he does do is blush.  
   
And he doesn’t even know _why_.  
   
***  
   
Okay, so, they were noodles-and-a-coffee friends, and now they are fall-asleep-in-each-other’s-shoulder-and-make-carefully-worded-possibly-romantic-comments-on-the-internet friends.  
   
Whatever. David can roll with it. He’s going to roll with it like he’s never rolled with something before.  
   
And it’s going to be easy, because Tommy makes it be easy. He moves so fast that you think you won’t be able to keep up, but instead it carries you in his stride and before you know both of you are on the same page.  
   
Even though one of you has no idea what that page _is_.  
   
It doesn’t matter. David is rolling with it. That involves not questioning anything too hard.  
   
He quietly represses any thought of dancing near Tommy and the sound of his laughter, and he hides his phone so he’s not tempted to call Kate or America or Teddy or anyone that can tell him what to do.  
   
No one can tell him what to do.  
   
He’s Prodigy. He can figure it out. Maybe he never learned anything that prepared him to deal with Tommy Shepherd, but there must be something that helps him not to be a sad, pathetic loser.  
   
He hopes so, at least. Very hard.  
   
***  
   
One day, Tommy comes to his office unexpectedly.  
   
(It’s only technically unexpected, because David has taken to expecting Tommy whenever, so there’s no surprise to his irregular visits anymore. But David doesn’t tell him that, knowing it would spoil it).  
   
“I’m heading out,” he announces, leaning over David’s desk.  
   
“For the day?”  
   
“For the month. I got enough money.”  
   
“Oh,” David says, past the dry lump that has formed in his throat. “Okay. Are you going traveling?”  
   
“Not this time,” Tommy replies, playing with one of David’s pens and simultaneously making him so relieved. “I got tickets for this concert. You’re coming, right?”  
   
Yes. He doesn’t even need to know what concert. He’s sad like that.  
   
“Sure.”  
   
“Great!” Tommy smiles, dropping the pen and heading to the door.  
   
David returns to his work, as content as he can be, considering, until Tommy pops his head back in the room. “You know this is a date, right?”  
   
“What?” David answers, because he has no words. He has encyclopedic knowledge of many things, but he has. No. _Words_.  
   
“It’s a date. I thought it was pretty clear we’ve been going on dates, but Kate says you might not have realized it and that’s why you made no moves, which I thought was silly because you did kiss me first, but she-”  
   
“What?” He repeats, not only because Tommy has started to talk too fast, but because he’s just not following. He’s grown used to being a few seconds, or days, behind Tommy, who flits between thoughts and jumps to conclusions faster than David can find the line of his reasoning, but this?  
   
This is too much.  
   
And too much to hope for, besides. Not all of David’s acceptance and one-day-at-a-time zen life philosophy to everything involving Tommy can handle that.  
   
“We’re dating,” is the simple response, though Tommy looks less sure of that by the instant. “Aren’t we?”  
   
David only looks at him, because seriously? That’s the time Tommy decides to announce that?  
   
He’s been pining away for someone who thinks they’re together for weeks, possibly more?  
   
Tommy likes guys too?  
   
Weren’t he and Kate sort of a thing after New Year’s?  
   
David has so many questions.  
   
But apparently silence is the worst response, because Tommy – unthinkably, how, _why?_ – takes is as rejection. He gives David an uncomfortable look that is trying valiantly not to be miserable, rocks once on his heels and runs.  
   
And not in a speed David can catch up with, either.  
   
David blinks, then buries his head in his hands, regretting every decision that led to this one, giant screw up.  
   
The he picks up his stuff and leaves, calling it an early day and not caring if it gets him fired. He doesn’t even like the job anyway.  
   
There are far more important things.  
   
***  
   
“Have you found him yet?”  
   
Billy doesn’t stop chanting, but he does open his eyes and gives David a nasty look. Teddy sort of pats David shoulder, trying to be comforting.  
   
It’s not. The only thing comforting, right about now, is for him to know where Tommy is.  
   
America didn’t know, Noh-Varr didn’t know, if Kate knew she wasn’t telling and Loki wasn’t answering, and yes, David was desperate enough to try Loki.  
   
And nothing. Tommy was off the grid. Meaning the only place left to look was his brother’ house, and if he wasn’t there, than it was good luck that said brother is a mage who can do tracking spells.  
   
 _“IwanttoknowwhereTommyisIwanttoknowwhereTommyis-”_  
   
“Why did he storm off, anyway? You weren’t clear on that.”  
   
“He was upset because I didn’t realize we were dating,” he says, throwing up his hands.  
   
Teddy lifts a brow. “You didn’t realize you were dating?”  
   
“He didn’t clue me in!”  
   
“But dude, everyone else knew,” Teddy says, and David. David has to take some deep breaths.  
   
“And no one thought to tell me?”  
   
“We never thought we _had_ to.”  
   
“You’re not helping.”  
   
 _“-IwanttoknowwhereTommyisIwanttoknow-_ Oh,” Billy breaks his focus, blue light fading around him. David leans forward.  
   
“What’s ‘oh’? Did you find him? Is he near?”  
   
“Well, yeah, he’s-” There’s the sound of a door opening and quick steps on the hallway. “-here.”  
   
“Yo, Billy, you-” Tommy enters the room, takes one look at all of them sitting together, and turns, preparing to run again.  
   
“Now you wait just a minute,” David jumps out of his seat. “Why did you have to run away like that? It’s not fair, I could never catch up.”  
   
“I didn’t want you to!” Tommy retorts, angrily. “And if you’re here to let me down gently–”  
   
“Guys, we’re still right here,” Billy says, and is promptly ignored.  
   
“How could you not tell me we were dating?”  
   
“What, aren’t you supposed to be the _smart_ one?”  
   
“Don’t throw that in my face just because I can’t figure you out!”  
   
“Seriously, standing right here. We live here, we can’t go away.”  
   
“Fine,” Tommy hisses, and they are standing right in each other’s faces now. “I thought we were dating. I thought you liked me. Clearly, I’m an idiot. Now go away.”  
   
“You are an idiot, but only because you won’t let me _speak_.” David grabs Tommy’s arms, pulls him even closer. “I do like you. _You’re_ the one who said I was moving too fast and pushed me-”  
   
“Because you were! And now you’re moving too slow!”  
   
David can admit, to himself, that he hasn’t yet figured out quite where they stand. But he thinks he figured out the most important part: they like each other. There’s nothing else that matters as much.  
   
He’s taking a page form Tommy’s notebook – life’s too short, _carpe diem_ , etcetera.  
   
He kisses Tommy.  
   
“Guys!”  
   
It’s technically their second kiss, but it’s the first one that counts, because now both know who they’re kissing and no mysterious third party is involved and Tommy is actually _kissing him back_.  
   
He lays a hand in Tommy’ back and Tommy runs a hand over the back of his neck and it’s so amazing David could cry. He could honest to god cry because he’s so happy. And they fit, they always have, with some bumps along the way, sure, but doing okay as long as Tommy can slow down for David and David can speed up for Tommy, every once in a while.  
   
And it’s all perfect.  
   
Even if Billy kicks them out of the house as soon as they break apart.

**Author's Note:**

> this is... silly and fluffy and not even my best work but I really wanted to write David/Tommy because there're only 18 fics on this site? and I was just going to make it a little drabble on my tumblr but then I wanted to contribute here (again, 18 fics).  
>    
> anyway, I never wrote marvel before, nor did I write these characters, so if anyone even read this, well. You're a champ, and also, feedback is greatly appreciated. Oh, and [ this ](http://tamirthegreat.tumblr.com/post/93648696986/title-never-had-a-friend-like-me-pairing-david) is the tumblr counterpart, and my askbox is always open.


End file.
